B4BC and Red Mountain bring ReTreat Yourself to Shred The Love Tour

ReTreat Yourself: B4BC’s Second Stop Of Their Shred The Love Tour

By Dominique Vallee

Photos Geoff Andruik

Earlier this month Boarding For Breast Cancer partnered up with BC’s Red Mountain Resort to put on ReTreat Yourself; a weekend retreat for breast cancer survivors to enjoy themselves, find healing and support through friends and kick-start their journey to a healthy lifestyle. The weekend consisted of three days at Red Mountain Resort near Rossland, with everything from daily yoga classes to shredding the hill with pro-skier Kasha Rigby and pro-snowboarders Kendra Starr and Megan Pischke. Of the thirteen women who attended ReTreat Yourself, The North Face provided ten fully-paid spaces for breast cancer survivors, however spaces were available for anyone to attend.

B4BC held an information booth on the mountain to educate the public about the causes of breast cancer and different ways of prevention.

By bringing the women to the mountains, it allowed them to unplug for the weekend and bring simplicity to their life. Society encourages us to depend on the constant need to be connected. Instagram, Facebook, texting and checking emails; all excess noise that distracts from the little things life has to offer on a daily basis. The significance of disconnecting lets the women focus entirely on themselves and their inner strength.

To start off each day the ladies had the chance to work with Canadian yoga instructor Kristin Campbell, who encourages living a simple and positive lifestyle. Campbell uses yoga as a tool to build a strong core connection with the mind, body and soul. Through poses, postures and breath work, the women paved their way to powerful and refreshing mornings.

The different stages of breast cancer.

On the mountain B4BC provided an information booth to educate the public about breast cancer, healthier eating habits and toxic chemicals in everyday cosmetics. Alongside the pamphlets and fliers that were provided, B4BC pulled out their infamous tray of boobies to educate women on self-examination, which is the first step in the fight against breast cancer. After their information filled morning, the ladies got to let loose and shred the hill with Kendra Starr, Megan Pischke and Kasha Rigby.

To bring back their zen vibe from their morning yoga workout, the women booked massages with Susan Chapelle, a master massage therapist and post-surgery breast tissue scientist from Squamish, BC. Colorado life coach and counselor, Linda Kennoy, helped the ladies break through life challenges and focus on their inner power encouraging them to conquer the world.

Saturday brought a daylong event for the ladies to enjoy themselves and get their shred on. As their second stop of this years’ campaign tour, B4BC held Shred the Love to raise awareness and encourage participation for their Winter Board-A-Thon Series. Donations from supporting companies such as The North Face, Gnu, Yes, and Powder Room were raffled off at local bar, Rafter’s. Throughout the night the partygoers got their groove on to Allen Stone, a dude with some rad rhythms crossed between classic soul, R&B and folk of the 1960s and ‘70s. In addition to the raffle ticket proceeds, Red Mountain donated 50 percent of their Saturday sales to the Boarding for Breast Cancer organization, coming to a grand total of 5,156.73 dollars.

As the weekend went on, smiles were shared, bonds were made stronger and the tasty food of local chef, Marianne Abraham, was grubbed. Oh yeah, and the Shred of Love was shred.

Not only did they supply how-to flyers, but a tray of boobies showing the different stages in breast cancer.

The Shred the Love campaign will be touring from this upcoming weekend until the first weekend of May. Be sure to check it out.